Late Bloom
by AthenaSeiki
Summary: The Fourth Great Ninja War is finally over. As the five great nations have gained a new bond of trust and understanding and the world looks forward to a bright future, so do the ones who brought the war to an end. However, the reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons struggle to get closure to their pasts and come to terms with themselves and the paths they seek.


Summary: The Fourth Great Ninja War is finally over. As the five great nations have gained a new bond of trust and understanding and the world looks forward to a bright future, so do the ones who brought the war to an end. However, even this journey holds great challenges, as the reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons struggle to finally get closure to their pasts and come to terms with themselves and the paths they seek once and for all.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs exclusively to Masashi Kishimoto.

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...

Morino Ibiki made his way down the old, roughly hewn stone staircase that led to the reinforced underground chamber of the ANBU headquarters reserved for the interrogation and containment of only the most high-ranking criminals. Reaching the end of the stairs, he nodded at the two ANBU shinobi standing guard in the tiny antechamber, flanking the heavy wrought iron door in the centre of the wall. The masked guard on the left moved over and turned his back to them, taking out a bunch of keys. In a few seconds, he picked one out and inserted it into the large padlock. He turned the key and pushed at the door, which slowly swung open with a loud groan. Stepping aside, he motioned for Ibiki to enter with a respectful bow of the head.

The seasoned interrogator had no sooner stepped through the door than it swung shut behind him with a resounding _thunk_. He barely cast a glance over the now familiar long dungeon-like room, heading straight for the line of stone confinement cells to his right. Currently, all the cells were unoccupied, save for one, where Ibiki found his interrogee for the day sitting quietly in the shadows cast over his bunk. He could barely be called a man - he was still just a teenager after all. Albeit, a very dangerous teenager.

Ibiki's sharp eyes took in the boy's lean frame that was currently bound entirely up to his feet by a straitjacket secured by thick metal bands, completely restricting any free movement. He was slouched over, his long, dark bangs obscuring most of his profile, but Ibiki could just make out in the dark the thick black leather blindfold in place over his eyes.

A necessary precaution.

He took a step closer to the cell and cleared his throat, causing the boy's head to snap towards him. At the same time, there was a _poof_ of smoke behind Ibiki and three ANBU sentries appeared.

"Morino-san." The one in the middle addressed him, while the others inclined their heads in greeting. " Sorry for the delay. We will be assisting you with the interrogation."

Ibiki frowned. "I believe I told Hokage-sama that I would be questioning the boy myself."

"Yes, but the Council believes it would be wise, given his reputation, to have some...reinforcements," came the low response.

Ibiki resisted the urge to snort. If the boy did indeed get loose, given what he'd heard, the idea that a few ANBU would be able to subdue him was laughable.

If he had to have company while he worked, he would have preferred his two chunin students, who often assisted him. Unfortunately, they were both presently hospitalised. However, he decided to let it slide.

"Alright, then. Bring him out," he said, jerking his head towards the cell's bars.

"Yes, sir."

Two of the ANBU moved forward and around him. He stepped back as one of them performed a series of hand seals and slammed his palm against the bars, causing the grate to swing inwards. They then walked inside, checking to make sure the prisoner's restraints were in place before they hauled him to his feet and nudged him forward.

Ibiki turned and strode towards the table in the middle of the room, pulling out a chair and settling down to watch as the sentries helped the boy shuffle ahead slowly, gripping his upper arms tightly. He noted that despite the restraints, the boy kept his back straight and stood at his full height. Finally reaching the table, the two sentries sat him down at the table, right opposite Ibiki. Under the overhead light, he saw that whatever was visible of the boy's face was sickly pale. The blindfold over his eyes had a glimmering yellow chakra seal on it.

Ibiki leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers.

"Take that thing off," he said, motioning to the blindfold.

The sentries looked taken aback, and exchanged glances between themselves before one of them spoke up. "But-but, Morino-san, considering his powers that would be"-

"I am aware of it," cut in Ibiki. "However, it will be impossible for me to conduct a proper interrogation without eye contact."

He paused, and then turned to the boy, addressing him for the first time. "Listen up, kid. I've been told that you've had a change of heart, but I'm the kind of man who needs to see to believe. And trust me, if I see that Sharingan of yours at any point during this session, I'll make sure that you stay locked up here for the rest of your life, no matter what anyone says. Understood?"

The boy remained silent, a tiny frown forming on his face as Ibiki spoke, but in a few seconds he gave a barely perceptible nod. That was answer enough for Ibiki.

"You can remove the blindfold now."

"But, his left eye"-

"I said I am _aware_ of it," said Ibiki firmly. "Please do not make me repeat myself a third time."

Sensing that he was starting to lose his patience, they relented. "Y-yes, sir."

Another quick sequence of hand seals and the sentry put his hand over the blindfold. The kanji of the seal slowly faded and the sentry removed the piece. Both of them stood back, posture tense and ready for any sudden move.

Ibiki watched, on alert, as the boy slowly opened his eyes, revealing the normal, black iris of his right eye and a left eye whose sclera and iris had both turned purple. There were thin, black concentric rings around the pupil, with the innermost two rings having six black tomoe evenly distributed between them.

He couldn't help but stare at the supposedly mythical dojutsu and for a fraction of a second cursed himself, expecting to be set ablaze or caught in an illusion.

However, nothing of the sort happened and he relaxed.

"I take it you can't revert that like your usual dojutsu." It wasn't really a question.

"...I can't," The boy's voice was hoarse from disuse.

"Very well, then," said Ibiki, leaning back in his chair and producing a pen and small notepad from his coat pocket, which he dropped onto the table. "I don't know if you remember me or not, but my name is Morino Ibiki, commanding officer of the Konoha Interrogation Force. I will be questioning you about all of your activities after you left this village and were classified as a rogue ninja four years ago. Let us begin, Uchiha Sasuke."

...

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A/N: Please rate and review! All constructive criticism and feedback is appreciated.


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